LAS VEGAS — Cezary Oleksiejczuk walked away from his UFC debut with a unanimous decision victory and a serious knee injury. The Polish newcomer (17-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) impressed in his first promotional appearance Saturday, sweeping the scorecards against Cesar Almeida (7-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) with a trio of 30-27 scores on the UFC on ESPN 74 main card at the UFC Apex. But moments after celebrating the biggest win of his career, Oleksiejczuk arrived at his post-fight news conference on crutches.
Despite controlling Almeida with wrestling, takedowns, and top pressure, Oleksiejczuk said the injury dampened his excitement. “I feel not good I have an injury in my knee,” he told MMA Junkie.
“I’m happy that I got the win in my debut, but I’m only 50/50 happy. This debut was hard for me he had four fights in the UFC and three wins. But I was encouraged because I had a lot of takedowns and I controlled the fight.”
Oleksiejczuk explained that the knee issue began early in the second round. “I injured my knee in the first two minutes of Round 2. If I tried a takedown or a body lock, my knee felt broken. I couldn’t fake takedowns because my knee wobbled.”
A Rare Decision for a Noted Finisher
Oleksiejczuk had not gone the distance in nearly three years heading into Saturday’s bout. He entered the UFC riding a streak of four consecutive knockout/TKO victories, including a 36-second KO of Theo Haig in September on Dana White’s Contender Series that secured his contract.
The win moves him to 1-0 in the promotion, but his immediate future will depend on the severity of his knee injury.
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
